lala
verb
to sleep; to lie down.
Lala is the bare stem, and kulala is its infinitive. It covers both going to sleep and lying down, and it can also describe something resting flat or collapsed.
Forms
- kulala
- infinitive
- laza
- causative · put someone to bed or lay something down
- laliwa
- passive · be slept on
- lalana
- reciprocal · sleep at one another’s homes
Origins
Lala is an inherited Bantu verb with deep roots in Swahili rather than a later loanword. Older Swahili dictionaries already use it for sleeping, lying down, and things settling or falling flat.
Sources3
M. Haspelmath and U. Tadmor, World Loanword Database · Swahili profile (Max Planck Institute / Lexibank, 2009), Swahili profile; forms.csv (-lala).
Lists Swahili -lala for sleeping and lying down as earlier Bantu with no evidence for borrowing.
A. C. Madan, Swahili-English Dictionary (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1903), 192, alphabetical entry: Lala.
Records lala for lying down, sleeping, settling, collapsing, and resting flat.
Edward Steere, A Handbook of the Swahili Language as Spoken at Zanzibar (London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, 1884), 325, alphabetical entry: Lala ku-.
Records lala ku- for sleeping and lying down, with examples of things falling flat.
Examples
Ninalala mapema.
I go to sleep early.
Mtoto analala sasa.
The child is sleeping now.
Tulilala vizuri jana usiku.
We slept well last night.
Nataka kulala.
I want to sleep.
Lala salama.
Sleep well.
Usilale darasani.
Do not sleep in class.
Wageni wamelala hotelini.
The guests are sleeping at the hotel.
Baada ya chakula, alilala kidogo.
After the meal, she slept for a while.
Mbwa amelala chini ya meza.
The dog is sleeping under the table.
